Samsung Galaxy S4 free with two-year contract (Best Buy, Staples)

Several retailers are offering deals on the Galaxy S4 and other smartphones. You can't do much better than free for the GS4, which hit the market at $199.99 with a two-year contract (AT&T/Sprint/Verizon). Note: Staples is actually charging 1 cent for the phone, so not quite free.

51 inches: Samsung PN51F4500 ($429)

Widely available now from Samsung's Web site and elsewhere for this new low price, the F4500 is the sole plasma TV on this list, and one of the few we didn't review this year. However, CNET contributor Geoff Morrison loved it in his review at The Wirecutter and even pitted it against a 4K LCD. Guess which won?

The Xbox One with no games is $499.99. If you're not ready to make that investment, like with the PS3, you can get the Xbox 360 with a bundle of games for a relatively modest price. (This bundle would regularly run you $286).

MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina Display (Best Buy, $1,099.99)

Apple products usually don't get discounted all that much (if anything at all), so when you see a couple hundred bucks off a product like the MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina Display (regularly $1,299), it's worth mentioning. Best Buy is also offering $150 off all MacBooks Airs.

Nook HD 8GB 7-inch tablet (Barnes & Noble, Target, $79.99)

Barnes & Noble and Target are blowing out the 7-inch Nook HD 8GB for $79.99 (regularly $129). While 8GB of internal memory is a bit skimpy, it's got an expansion slot for more memory and has the Google Play store on board, which makes the whole package a bargain at this price.

Runner-up Nook deals: Barnes & Noble is also selling the Nook Simple Touch (basic e-reader) for $39.99 (regularly $79), and Best Buy has the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight for $49.99 (regularly $99).

Sony MDR-X10 headphones (Best Buy, Sony Online, $99.99)

Best Buy is running a Black Friday special on Sony's X Series Over Ear headphones for $99.99. That's a good deal on these headphones, which don't have a ton of detail but do have lots of bass. If you miss them at Best Buy, Sony is currently running the same deal in its online store (Sony also has them in all black).

HP Envy Touchsmart 17 (Best Buy, $799)

It may not be super lightweight, but this 17.3-inch touch-enabled notebook runs on a fourth-gen Intel Core i7 processor, has a 1,920x1,080-pixel display, and integrated Beats Audio technology. Pretty decent deal at $799 (regularly $999).

Microsoft Surface 32GB ($169, eBay)

Lots of retailers are running deals on the Surface RT, which runs Windows RT (not to be confused with the Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2, which run Windows 8.1). We're not sure how bright RT's future is (translation: it's a bit of a risky investment), but if you've had your eye on one, eBay has it at the bargain price of $169 (the Surface RT started out at $349.99). Staples and Fry's are bundling it with the keyboard cover for $249.99 and $229.99, respectively, and Best Buy has it on its own for $199.99.

Editors' Rating

Bonus deal: PlayStation Vita with 4 games ($175, Amazon)

Sony PlayStation Vita (read review)
Earlier this year, Sony's portable game console was selling for $250. But today, Amazon is offering the Vita for $175, and throwing in four games -- The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, Retro City Rampage, and Uncharted Golden Abyss (all via download codes). Also included is a 4GB memory card. We'd call that one fantastic deal -- and unlike the other Black Friday deals on Amazon, this one seems like it's available all day. (Jump directly to the deal on Amazon here.)